Information Day 2017

One of the most anticipated days of the year, iDay has long been an opportunity for the different faculties at HKU to show off their activities, departments, and majors (and to incentivize prospective students using free pens and folders). Signs of preparations for iDay were visible everywhere for the whole week before it began and, to the delight of students, afternoon classes were canceled the day before the event. On the day itself, the enthusiasm of student ambassadors, as well as faculty volunteers, can be aptly described by the fact that the university was teeming with students at 7.45, a time of the day we prefer to cling to our Oh-so-beloved beds. While on normal days, 8.30 or even 9.30 classes seem like an abomination of our rights, iDay was a completely different story.

The day started with the handing out of cool t-shirts and badges for the volunteers. Groups of student ambassadors in yellow were being guided by university staff in charge of specific departments. Their tasks ranged from guiding guests around campus to holding signs and handing out souvenirs. Volunteers set up stalls to represent the various faculties and traditional halls at HKU. As the clock hit 9:00, visitors began pouring in. Most of the early visitors were prospective students eager not to miss the early morning admission talks arranged by the different faculties.

Coming from the HKU MTR Exit A towards the main campus, one could witness an inflated dinosaur in front of the Stephen Hui Geological Museum where a guided tour was being offered and where the Department of Earth Sciences had set up its stall. Nearby, representatives of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine were guiding interested visitors towards the shuttle bus to the medical campus. Moving towards the Run Run Shaw Podium, the traditional halls had set up their stalls where a vibe of fraternity and unity filled the air. In front of Eliot Hall were stalls where the numerous programmes offered by the Faculty of Science were represented. KK Leung Building was taken over by the enthusiastic volunteers of the Faculty of Business and Economics, and Knowles Building had volunteers from the faculty of architecture all around it. Going over to the Centennial Campus, the first thing one would notice were the circular stalls set up by the faculty of Engineering in the lower University Street. Among other things, the Department of Computer Science showcased their work on virtual and augmented reality by setting up a VR video game platform for the public to experience for themselves. In the Haking Wong Building, visitors were being given a demo of robots that would follow a person while making a digital 3D map of the surroundings, as well as ones that could be controlled remotely using an iOS app. Meanwhile, on the Upper University Street, a Tesla Model S was being flaunted by the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

As the day went on, the crowd kept growing bigger since a lot of people were curious about the admissions process and the programmes the university offered. The talks were carried out throughout the day in English, Cantonese, and bilingual settings to cater to the needs of the diverse range of people attending. By 18:00, iDay had effectively come to an end and after a long day of work, the volunteers and student ambassadors could breathe a sigh of relief. Now that this phase of the admissions process was over, the Admissions and Academics Liaison Section could focus on shortlisting the prospective students who would be sending in applications around this time. The tedious task of picking out the best of all qualified applicants will most definitely keep them busy until the next admissions cycle.